KC News Round Up Wednesday 10th July 2024

Today parents, Governors, invited guests, staff and students past and present gathered together for our fabulous Speech Day celebration to end our academic year. The orchestra and choirs performed some beautiful pieces, including Memory from Cats and Bohemian Rhapsody, our outgoing Head Girl Team reminisced on a few of their favourite memories from their time at KC and Miss Handford reflected on some of the key themes which have been a focus of this year, including community, collaboration and perseverance.

Our Guest of Honour, Reverend Helen Cameron, President of the Methodist Conference 2024-25, gave an inspiring talk where she shared some meaningful advice on giving your best which is not necessarily the same as being the best and not hiding who you are or what you can do. Reverend Cameron then awarded the prizes for all of our winners this year, as well as the A Level certificates for our returning Upper Sixth.

It was a wonderful celebration of our students' successes and we are extremely proud of each and every one.

Returning Upper Sixth Breakfast

It was a delight to welcome back students and their families from last year's Upper Sixth for breakfast, and hear how their first year after KC has gone.

Sports Day

As always, Senior School Sports Day was a fantastic way to round off another amazing year of KC Sport on Saturday. Watched by parents, supporters and staff, school records were broken, PBs were smashed and everyone tried their best to win for their House. On the day Danes, Saxons and Celts all did amazingly well but it was Celts who won. Well done to everyone who took part and demonstrated sportsmanship, competitive spirit and determination!

Young Fashion Designer UK Finals

On Saturday, the finals of the Young Fashion Designer UK competition for the South of England region were held at Kent College. The brief for entrants was to choose a classic fashion staple garment and consider how it could be reused, recycled or how it could help reduce the implications that throwaway fast fashion continues to have on our environment.

Out of over 200 submissions, 12 students were selected for the final from schools across the South of England, including three students from KC: Florence in Year 9, Tina in Year 10 and Piper in the Lower Sixth, who all did brilliantly well. As well as being judged on their submission, finalists had to complete an upcycling challenge and discuss their submission and their reasons behind it with our four judges. All of the results, including those from the North and Midlands region, can be found on the YFD website below.

I wanted to say how much I enjoyed the YFD day at Kent College. I thoroughly enjoyed being a judge and meeting my co-judges, Rachel and Francesca, and of course Susan, and it was a real pleasure to be part of the occasion. The standard was very high and the brief excellent. It was an unforgettable experience for those young people and their parents, and the message of sustainable and responsible fashion was communicated. It was an incredibly special and positive day and I felt privileged to be involved. Julia Robson, Head Judge

Boarders Go-Karting

For the last outing of the term and for this academic year, all the boarders and staff went go-karting. This is the first time we have tried such an exciting event and there was a mixture of nerves and anticipation among the girls. There was a display of some very careful and solid driving and some extremely fast driving!

It proved to be a very successful outing with everyone completing the course. Ms Johnson was the overall winner in her group with Marta and Jaclyn coming in first and second in their group.

Enrichment Activities

For the last few days of term, students have been enjoying a variety of fun enrichment activities.

Year 7

As part of our focus on Global Citizenship, the Art Department gave Year 7 a brief for a collaborative project, to design and construct a favela. Originally found in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, favelas were originally made out of found or salvaged materials. In teams, students, constructed model houses from cardboard, painted them and decorated them before they were all joined together to make a whole village.

Year 7 then spent the following day on our Confidence Course tackling some of the apparatus such as balance beams and the monkey bars, before roasting marshmallows by the campfire in the forest .

Year 8

Year 8 students have been taking part in a Duke of Edinburgh Award induction to give them a flavour of what is involved in the Bronze Award that is offered in Year 9. Students took part in a navigation exercise around the school first, to find the objects they would need for an expedition, before going on a two hour hike using only maps and compasses to find the route. Finally they practised putting up tents and making hot chocolate on the gas stoves.

The next day, Year 8 then spent a fantastic day at Bewl Water, navigating around the course of inflatables on the lake!

Year 9

The Science block was transformed into a crime scene for the Year 9 CSI Day. Students arrived at school to find a 'murder' victim and then spent the day carrying out forensic analysis to find the perpetrator! Analysis included chromatography, blood splatter analysis, blood typing, finger prints, shoe prints and tyre prints and powder analysis. Fortunately all of our amateur sleuths figured out that Mrs Hopper was the murderer!

Year 10 and Lower Sixth

Year 10 and Lower 6 students participated in a Model United Nations Day on Monday.

They learnt a little about how the UN works and what the purpose of Model United Nations (MUN) is. Then they were split into groups to act as delegates representing different countries. The topic for the day was Girls in Education and each country prepared an opening speech about their position on the Draft Resolution. The Draft Resolution had been prepared in advance by AIM students from the Lower Sixth. Each country had to research what is happening in their country and then figure out which aspects of the resolution they agreed with or would like amended. The resolution and proposed amendments were enthusiastically debated in the theatre in the afternoon before being voted on. The amendments and resolution were passed.

Well done to all the students who enthusiastically took part and the teachers who supported them on the day.

I really enjoyed MUN as it joined together debating and competitiveness with learning new information. I loved the professionalism of the day and especially loved fighting for France's rights. Sophie, Lower Sixth

It was fascinating learning about the role of the United Nations. I enjoyed learning the techniques of the meeting where I could express my countries opinions and gain experience in debating. Matilda, Lower Sixth

I really enjoyed the whole day. It was very interesting researching the country’s view on the issue we debated. I also really enjoyed the actual debate as everyone was very engaged and contributed lots. Mireya, Lower Sixth

The MUN day was amazing! I found out so much about different countries and about how the UN works. It was fascinating! Sarah, Year 10

We have thoroughly enjoyed the MUN day today. It was very engaging and we learnt a lot about Brazil our selected country. Elaina & Darcey, Year 10

The following day, Year 10 went on a trip to Lower Grange Farm, adventure and activity centre in Maidstone, where they enjoyed a range of activities including zorbing, quad biking, archery and fencing.

The Lower Sixth took part in a workshop with by Word Up, whose aim it is to increase confidence in public speaking through writing and performing poetry.

Other Sports News

Cricket

Congratulations go to our Under 13 cricket team for coming third in the Kent Hardball Championships.

Gymnastics

Emily and Zarina in Year 7 competed as a team in the Apparatus Kent Championships in Rochester on Sunday, placing seventh for the Kent College Gymnastics Academy. Zarina also came third on Bars and Floor. This is their last competition for the summer term. All of our gymnasts have performed brilliantly this year and we are very proud of them all.

Ice Hockey